Xylophone



April 18, 1950 H, zlMMERMAN 2,504,915

Y XYLOPHONE Filed oct. 28. 1948 2 sheets-sheet 1 Bnventor:

HARRY ZIMMERMAN Gltorneg 'April 18,"1950 H. ZIMMERMAN 2,504,915

XYLOPHONE Filed Oct. 28. 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 npentor;

HARRY ZIMMERMAN B MM@ Gftorneg- '.410.Lereippqted Qrithe'e. Ltame overthe' tes-wan :Hanny: unable manner.- e5

bars on acasing o r on Aa', supp'ortingstructure in lpositions where theV'bars can vibrate freelyl and are well visible, accessible andstrikable and'froin Where the sound wavesoriginating from the bars Acanradiate freely, to prevent the tone bars from excessive movementsordislocations, andto re- 'strict or limit the movability of the tone barsin a manner that does not interfere with the before mentioned objectsand with the quality vofthe sounds produced.`A

Other objects are tojfacilitate the assemblage of the toy, to reduce thenumber of. parts Vneces-- sary for the assemblage,` and to secure thebarsto the supporting vstructuresinnloly by inserting integralprojections of thejbars into openings of the casings top wall.

Further objects are to attain these results with simple andinexpensivemeans, to provide tone bars of ashape that canbeeasily madeandvis adapted for the objects mentioned before, and to Provide amusical toy .that cante. easily .and

quickly made andr assembledcan ybe Aeasily vplayed and has good soundingquality." Still other vobjects and H advantages will appear from thefollowing description of exemplifying embodimentsjof my inventi'omfromthe appended 'i Fig.v 1 s hoWsfa'top view of an illustrative embodimentof my invention, some parts being broken eff for the sake jo lf showingthe underlying "f ,parts-p j lf"ig. v2l showshaepaijtly sectie al side`view of the 'same embodiment, the. sectlonally represented part beingcut along the broken line 2-2 in Fig.v` 1. Fig. 3 shows aperspectiveview of a tonefbar used in the same `ernbodiment and of a broken offpart of the supporting structure, the tone bar being represented in aposition higher than the finally assembled position. Figs. 4 to 6 showperspectivevl views of three different modications ofthe parts shown invFig: 3, these figures being represented in a vmanner v'corresponding toFig. 3.

v 14 claims. (cire easing its . Figs. 1 and 2 are representedon'a'smallerscale` than'Figs. 3y to 6.

' Referring to the drawings, numeral I indicates a c asing which has atop Wall or ceiling 3." Tone bars, some of which are' indicatedbyxn'mer'als I Aat soin dis- ...seal n. 'ein i f 2: I '1i For examplethese bars rest o`n two "stripsf soft material which ovrli 'the top-Wall3.' The strips 3 may be aifixed to this Wall in any suitable manner, forexample, by U-shaped cramps II e'ngaging the ends of the strips andbeing aixed to the top Wall. The casing I and the strips 9 form thestructure supporting the tone bars.

Except for restingo'n the soft strips,` the tone bars are freely movablein all directions whereby their sounding vibrations'are unimpairedExcessive dislocation of thebars, for example, a horizontal shiftvvhichwould` bring one tone bar too close to another tone bar or toofar`V out of line with the other bars, is prevented by'restricting'provided' with struck out' projections have! a `clearer andbettersoundeffect than bars to which parts/are connected by other means. Inaddition, the manufactureof "bars with struck out projections is simplerand less expensive because the projections can be formed't'ogether withthe bar Without any' additional operation.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the projections I 2 areshapedlike hooks having vertical partsv I3 passing "-vvithclearance'through openings I 4 of the top'VvvalYv 3. This structure doesvnotint'erfere with'the vibrations of the bar, but

restricts the Amov-ability ofthe bars sufciently to prevent excessivelateral or horizontal dislocation ofthebars. 1-

In addition, means are-provided to prevent excessive upward movement ofthe bars or a verticaldislocation of the same which would bring theprojections' out of the openings. These restrictive means" areconstituted by'one or several members, each of which is affixed eitherto a tone bar or to the casing. In'the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3,there are two types of such members, either type or bothrmay be used inone embodiment. One type of vertically restricting members isconstitute'dby an elongated body I5 which may form a bridge having feetI6 alixed on top of the top wall 3. The other type is constituted by thelower ends I1 of the projections l2.

These ends are bent into horizontal direction and extend at a smalldistance below the top wall 3 when the bar is in assembled condition.Preferably, each tone bar has two projections I2 which may have parts I1extending horizontally in opposite directions. The lengths of the partsI1 are preferably so measured that, in any position of the bar possiblewithin'its range of horizontal movability, at least one of the parts I1reaches horizontally beyond the respective open-l` ing I4. In this case,the projections maybepassed through the openings for assemblage whileone or both projections are slightly bentoppositely to that direction inwhich the endy I1 reaches.l

beyond the edge of the opening in unbent condition. The projections I2are sufficiently resilient to allow such a temporary deformation afterwhichthey will readily return into the farfreachingor interlockingposition. 1-

- In the modication illustrated by .Fig. 1i, tone bars are used whichdiiierfrom the toner-bar shown in Fig. 3 by a different shapeof'*thestrucir The bar 2I exemplifies this-Av vout projections.

modiiication. It has projections 22 which extend ldownwardly in straightdirections and, in assem- -bled-position, pass through openings 2d ofthe top wall-with clearance.v Also in this case, the lower ends of theprojections may reach horizontally beyond the respective openings if thedirections of the projections are slightly oblique. The resilience ofthe projections allows their passage :through the openings during theassemblage.

The tone bar 3I shown in- Fig. 5 illustrates another modiiication. Thebar 3I has struck out projections 32 which are substantially T-shaped,'each comprising a relatively narrow stem extending downwardly and abroader lower end 31 extending horizontally. The corresponding openings34 of the top wall are slots extending parallel to the lower ends 31 andbeing longer and wider than the corresponding cross-sections of thestems 33 whereby stems can pass through ythese openings with clearance.Preferably, the

end ends 31 yare slightly broader in horizontal direction than thelengths of the slots 34 and are sufciently resilient to snap throughlthese slots. Y The modifications shown in Figs. 3 to 5 are assembled assoon as the tone bars are lowered from the positions shown inY thesegures until the lower ends ofthe projections have passed the Vtop wallopenings. The furthermodicaticn illustrated by Fig. is assembled in aslightly different manner. This latter modification corn- Vprises a tonebar 4-I which has oneT-shaped projection 42 with a stem 43 and a broaderlower end 41 similar to the projections 32, stem and end 31 describedbefore. The corresponding opening 44 of the top wall forms a slot whichis preferably slightly longer and wider than the largest horizontalcross-section of the end but ,jhasa direction diiierent from thedirection: of

this end in iinally assembled position. For

ample, the direction of the slot 44 may run at a right angle to the naldirection of the end it? .or to the direction of the slot 34 shown in 5.

Preferably, the bar-.4I has an additional projection 45 adapted forpassage through an opening 46 of the top wall. The projection 45 may bewithout broader end and may extend straight downwardly.

The projection 42 is passed through the slot 44 while the bar 4I isturned into the position shown in Fig. 6. This position is turned abouta right angle relatively to the bars iinal position. Then the bar isturned in the direction of the arrow 48 until the projection 45 can pass'through the opening 46. During this turning movement, the bar may beslightly tilted so that the projection 45 can move over the supportingstructure. 'Ihe resiliency of the projection 45 facilitates thismovement and causes the projection 45 to snap into the opening46. In theposition reached in this manner, the long side of the end 41 crosses thedirection of the slot 44 whereby the end i1 reaches beyond this slot andthe bar is prevented from excessive upward movement.

'I desire it understood that my invention is not conined to theparticular embodiments shown and described, the same being merelyillustrative, and that my invention may be carried out in other wayswithout departing from the spirit of my invention as it is obvious thattheparticular embodiments shown and described are only a few of the manythat may be employed to attain the `objects of my invention.

, Having described the nature of my invention, what I claim and desireto protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A-xylophone comprising a casing having a top-wall'with an opening,and a tone bar supported .on said casing over. said top wall and havinga downwardly extending projection passing through said opening andforming a stop for excessive movement of said bar relatively to saidcasing.

2. A Xylophone comprising a casing having a top wall `with an opening,and a tone bar supported on said casing over said top wall and having adownwardly extending projection passing with clearance through saidopening and forming a stop for excessive lateral movement of said barrelatively to said casing.

3. A Xylophone comprising a casinghaving a top wall with an opening, atone bar supported on said casing over said top Wall and having adownwardly extending projection passing with clearance through saidopening whereby said casing and said bar form two elements of which therelative horizontal movability is restricted, and a horizontallyextending member aiiixed to one of said elements in a position wheresaid member restricts the upward movability of said bar relatively tosaid casing.

4. A Xylophone comprising a casing having a top wall with an opening,and a tone bar supported on said casing over said top wall and having adownwardly extending projection struck out of the material of said barand passing through said opening and forming a stop for excessivemovement of said bar relatively to said casing.

5. A Xylophone comprising a casing having top wall with an opening, anda tone bar supported en said casing over said top wall and having adownwardly extending projection passing through said opening and forminga stop for excessive movement of said bar relatively to said casing, thelower end of said projection being lower than said top wall andextending, in herizontaldirection, beyond said opening Awhereby theupward movability of said bar is restricted.

6. A Xylophone comprising a casing having a top wall with two openings,a tone bar supported on said casing over said top wall and having twodownwardly extending projections passing with clearance through saidopenings whereby the 5 horizontal movability of said bar is restricted,one of said projections having a lower end positioned lower than saidtop wall and, in horizontal direction, extending so far that this endreaches beyond the opening passed by said latter projection in each ofthe restricted positions of said bar.

'7. A Xylophone comprising a casing having a top wall with two openings,a tone bar supported on said casing over said top wall and having twodownwardly extending projections passing with clearance through saidopenings whereby the horizontal movability of said bar is restricted,said projections having lower ends positioned lower than said top walland horizontally extending in opposite directions so far that each -oisaid ends reaches beyond the opening passed by the respectiveprojection, at least one oi said projections being suiciently resilientto allow resilient withdrawal of its far reaching end whereby saidprojections can be inserted in said openings.

8. A Xylophone comprising a casing having a top wall with an opening,and a tone bar sup ported on said casing over said top wall and having adownwardly extending projection which has a part passing with clearancethrough said opening and has a part positioned below said opening andbeing slightly broader than said opening, said broader part beingsuiicientiy re silient to be snapped through said opening.

9. A Xylophone comprising a casing having a top wall with a slot, and atone bar supported on said casing over said top wall and having adownwardly extending projection which has a part passing through saidslot with clearance and has a part positioned below said slot, beinghorizontally broader than the width of said slot but not broader thanthe length of said slot whereby said latter part can pass through saidslot when positioned with its broad side along said slot and can then beturned into a position where its broad side crosses the direction ofsaid slot.

10. A tone bar for a Xylophone having a horizontally extending mainpart, and a projection extending downwardly from said main part insubstantially perpendicular direction thereto and being adapted to serveas a stop for excessive movement of the bar.

11. A tone bar for a Xylophone having a horizontally extending mainpart, and a projection struck out of the material of said main part,extending downwardly from said main part in substantially perpendiculardirection thereto and being adapted to serve as a stop for excessivemovement of the bar.

12. A tone bar for a Xylophone having a horizontally extending mainpart, and a projection which has a part extending downwardly from saidmain part and has a part forming a continuation oi said downwardlyextending part and extending horizontally at some distance from saidmain part.

13. A Xylophone comprising a frame having a top wall provided with anopening, and a tonebar supported on said frame and having a downwardlyextending projection passing through said opening, and means forpreventing excessive movement of the bar relatively to said frame.

14. A Xylophone comprising a casing having a top wall with an openingand a tone bar supported on said casing over said top wall and having adownwardly extending projection which has a part passing with clearancethrough said opening and has a part positioned below said opening andbeing at least as broad as said opening, but sufciently narrow to allowsaid latter part to be forced through said opening when said projectionis inserted in said opening.

HARRY ZIMMERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,279,144 Lohr Apr. '7, 19422,293,102 Berger Aug. 18, 1942

